Breath In
by CrazyCatLadyVia
Summary: Using only his incredible sense of smell, Natsu is able to notice quite a lot about the people around him. A rare moment of quiet for the normally boisterous dragon slayer.


Everyone has their own unique scent. It comes from the mixture of things like preferred soaps, perfumes, the things they ate, the type of clothes they wear. But it also came down to a person's basic physical makeup, the magic in their souls, and the body they solely possess. Everyone was different.

No one knew this better then Natsu, who's nose could probably rival a blood hound. He mused this over as he sat at one of the long tables in his home, Fairy Tail guild hall. The dragon-slayer had his head down on his folded arms, feigning sleep. Sometimes it was nice to just listen and take in the scents around him of his family. Not many people would take Natsu for someone who liked to sit quietly, so he found this was a great way of indulging those rare moments without too much fuss. With his eyes closed, face hidden, the salamander focused on his surroundings. He could tell where everyone was just by their scent.

The first scent to his nose was obviously his own. He always thought he smelled like the essence of fire rather then something actually burning, like the aura of heat itself. Like Igneel had smelled: Heavy, like noon sun in a desert and underlined with things like baked earth, spices, and ash.

To his right, directly beside him, the smell was strongest and so familiar, he could probably sense them in the darkest of places. Delicate vanilla, summer sunlight, the sweetness of waterlilies, and beneath that, something that he could only describe as a sparkling, like moonlight, an ancient kind of smell. It reminded him of the stars. This was his best friend, could only be Lucy.

To his direct left, a completely different scent. This one was like a blast to the senses, so distinct and obviously theirs' that Natsu could never mistake them for another person. The earthiness of herbs, peppermint to be specific, and something like ginger, spicy and strong, winter winds, and snow. He always smelled like a winter storm, and reminded the salamander of a soft, muted night heavy with silent sifting flakes and swirling blizzard winds. Gray's presence was as familiar to him as a brother.

Another scent drifted to him from across the table, bringing a wave of nostalgia of reading lessons and fear. Metal and leather, polishing oil, and heavy fabric. In between these was also a melancholy scent, something like tears. There was also the faint sweetness like strawberries. More like strawberries and frosting. These smells were so thoroughly Erza, it was would have been impossible to be anyone else.

All around him, the familiar fragrances of his family swirled. Fish, wind, and fur: Happy. Iron, blood, and autumn leaves: Gajeel. Books, lavender, and ink: Levy. Heavy cigar smoke and hair gel: Wakaba. Beer and dark fire: Macao. Mountain wind and ocean mist: Wendy. Tea and jasmine: Carla. Storms and rage: Laxus. Sulfur and honey: Mirajane. Grass and cherry candy: Lisanna. Animals and pine: Elfman. Kiwi and steel: Panther Lily. Linseed oil and pigments: Reedus. Sunlight and juniper: Loke. Whiskey, coconut, and cards: Cana. So many others, all drifting around in a cloud around him, making him smile and made his eyes well up. He was glad for the shield of his arms, the guise of sleep.

"Natsu must really have worn himself out on our last job. He's sound asleep!" the voice to his right half-whispered. Not that it mattered, the hall was so loud, Lucy could have been yelling and it wouldn't have made a difference. He felt her hand rub between his shoulder blades gently, the movement carrying the scents of vanilla and sunlight swirling around him faster.

"Pathetic, really. We were barely gone a week and it's not like those guys were hard to take care of. He didn't even do any real work, the bum," the ice master's voice chimed in, peppermint and snow scents whirling to Natsu's nose with each word. He nearly gave up his charade then to snap at his rival but was interrupted by the last voice across the table.

"Leave him be. We all did great work and Natsu's been working hard lately. We all deserve the rest, though I must say I wouldn't take it so far as to sleep on the table. Perhaps we should take him home." Erza's strawberry scent was stronger, probably meaning she was enjoying a slice of her favorite cake as a reward to herself.

"No, let him sleep a bit longer. Someone's bound to throw a chair or something soon and wake him up anyway. Enjoy the quiet while you can." The hand between his shoulders lifted away and the scents of stars and vanilla became fainter. Lucy had gotten up and moved away. Natsu sat still for while longer, breathing in the remnants of her, listening all around again. The guild was growing noisier still and he knew he couldn't keep up the charade for long. The dragon slayer waited until a crash sounded (it was inevitable, there was always something being smashed at Fairy Tail just as Lucy had said) before lifting his head and opening his dark eyes to take in the sights before him.

Across the table, just as he knew, sat Erza, eating her third or fourth slice of strawberry cake. Beside him, Gray, half undressed and tipsy from the beer in front of him, was shouting across the room to Loke, who had a gin and tonic in his hand and a wicked grin, Cana to his right drinking by the barrel-full. Happy was fluttering around the room, trying to impress Carla with his acrobatics. His family, his huge, loud, powerful family, all of them laughing and drinking and fighting. The fire in his heart flared at the view, a grin spreading across his face as he scanned the crowd. But one was not in sight, her sweet laugh missed among the others, her delicate scent growing fainter. Standing, waving sleepily to Erza and Gray, Natsu skirted the tables and followed his nose. It weaved around his guildmates, in his mind's eye a delicate pink shimmer that lead him outside.

The night was quiet, stars spangled overhead, the boisterous noise from the hall dulled as the heavy door shut behind him. Again, Natsu picked up the trail, following the familiar scent along the street and down to the river. There she stood, leaning against the rail of the bridge, looking out over the water in the moonlight. The smell of stars and magic seemed to be more powerful around her at night.

"Hey Lucy."

At his voice, the blond turned, surprised but with a smile. "Natsu! Did you get a nice nap in? I didn't think you'd wake up for anything!" He joined her on the bridge, leaning on the rail beside her, their arms touching at the shoulder. It was a cool night and she shivered, unconsciously leaning closer to his warmth.

"I noticed you were gone. I wanted to say goodnight," the salamander explained, looking out over the dark water, watching the moonlight dart and dance across the ripples.

"How'd you ever know I left? I couldn't have been gone more then ten minutes!" she laughed a little, sending her scent swirling around him around, vanilla and stars and waterlilies. Turning to her now, without really thinking, because he rarely did ever think things through, his fingers slipped through her hair, catching a lock and gently lifted it to his nose. A blush spread across her cheeks but the celestial wizard didn't back away, only turned to stare at her partner.

"I always know when you're with me, Luce. It doesn't smell like home without you there beside me," Natsu grinned, letting the words tumble from his mouth, letting instinct guide him as he always did. He never did think too hard about whatever he said, he just said what he felt. And he meant what he said, as he looked into Lucy's warm chocolate eyes, took in the breath of her that made his heart swell. Her cheeks were flushed pink. Perhaps she was colder then he thought.

"Come on, I'll walk you home," he offered, letting the strands of her golden hair slip between his fingers, the hair whispering like silk against his rough hand. Turning to walk on, he stopped as he felt her hand grip the cloth of his sleeve. "Lucy?" he turned, confused, only to be met with Lucy's wide brown eyes, glittering with hot tears. "Luce! What happened? What's wrong, what did I say? I'm sorry! Please don't cry!" Beside himself, feeling stupid and panicked, he turned to her again, taking her into his arms where she caught at his jacket, burying her face against his shoulder. "Aw, Luce, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!"

She choked a short laugh through her tears. "I just…I wanted… Natsu, you… It doesn't feel like home to me without you either." Pulling her away lightly, Natsu reached up and wiped her tears away with his thumbs, holding her face gently, gazing into her eyes once more. The fire dragon smiled as he pulled her closer again, slowly lowering his head to rest his forehead against hers', his eyes closed, just breathing in, going quiet as he so rarely did. The sound of the river, their breathing, and their heartbeats hummed in his ears. They stood together for a long time, wrapped in each other's arms and auras; heat and stardust and spice and sweetness and ash.

Everyone has their own unique scent, that stems from all different factors, that all inevitably mix together depending on a person's family or friends or guild. Everyone, even if they aren't a dragon slayer, can recognize what home smells like. And for Natsu and Lucy, home smelled like fire and stars.

A/N: This is the first writing of any kind I've done in about 10 years. Hope you enjoyed it.


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